City officials hope the recent declaration of a federal Opportunity Zone in Seymour will help attract new development to the city.
Mayor Craig Luedeman said the designation will make the area more competitive when trying to market the community to industrial and large retail businesses.
Seymour’s Opportunity Zone is a 1,500-acre census tract that encompasses the area where Silgan is located on the city’s far south side all the way north to the CSX rail line near Cummins Seymour Engine Plant.
The Opportunity Zone program was created as part of President Donald Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
States could nominate areas to be considered for the program, which provides federal tax incentives to developers for private investment in low-income urban and rural communities.
The poverty rate of Seymour’s Opportunity Zone is 26 percent, and the unemployment rate is 8.5 percent.
Gov. Eric Holcomb submitted a total of 156 nominations from Indiana this past spring to the U.S. secretary of the treasurer for consideration, nearly all of which were approved.
A combination of factors were evaluated, including existing economic development programs and local coordination of efforts, economic and community data, likelihood of attracting short- and long-term investment, growing industry sectors within the community and recommendations and information submitted through an online application.
Luedeman said to benefit from the Opportunity Zone, the city will be working with a company to advertise and market it better.
Jackson County Industrial Development Corp. is taking the lead on the project. The $10,000 cost of the project is being split between the city and JCIDC.
The first phase will be an assessment to review city reports and plans, existing conditions in the zone and layout of boundaries to make it more tangible along with land use planning in the area, Luedeman said.
That work is expected to be completed by the end of the year to take advantage of all of the tax benefits in 2019 for the Opportunity Zone.
“I do think it’s a good thing,” Luedeman said. “It makes us more competitive in the future.”
The city already is working on two major projects in the same area to open it up for future development. Those projects include the installation of a new sewer line south of Tipton Street (U.S. 50) along South O’Brien Street and construction of the first phase of the Burkart Boulevard south bypass, which includes a railroad overpass and a multipurpose trail.
With the new road going in, Luedeman said he thinks it’s a good idea to have a plan in place to market what the city has to offer.
“I think it’s going to be very, very beneficial in the near future for us,” he said of the Opportunity Zone.